Hood with enlargeable face opening

ABSTRACT

A protective hood is provided for covering at least a portion of a wearer&#39;s head. The hood includes an upper head covering section, a posterior head covering section, a neck covering section and an anterior head covering section. The anterior head covering section includes a window through which a portion of the wearer&#39;s face is exposed. The hood also includes an expansion gap which permits the wearer&#39;s head to pass through the window.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention pertains to a protective hood, such as a firefighter's hood, which may have a depending shroud to protect the neck of the wearer, and in more particular applications, to a protective hood with an enlargeable window for the wearer's face.

2. Background Art

Protective hoods, such as those used by firefighters are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,520, 5,090,054, 5,873,132 and 6,662,375, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, and are available commercially from Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C. of Dayton, Ohio. Additionally, protective hoods are also used by others such as race car drivers, rescue workers and others.

Oftentimes, these individuals also wear additional protective garments such as jackets, helmets, boots, gloves and the like. All of this equipment can make a wearer hot and uncomfortable. In certain circumstances, the wearer may become hot and not require the use of the hood, such as when taking a break, yet chooses not to remove the hood so as not to lose the hood. Furthermore, oftentimes the protective hoods are tucked in to and/or attached to other protective garments and therefore cannot be removed without removing the additional protective garments and/or taking a long time to replace the hood back on the wearer's head.

In some instances, the wearer may wish to simply pull the hood down over his or her head, yet the openings in the hood do not permit the wearer's head to pass through (or to easily pass through) while still maintaining the hood on the wearer's head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, a protective hood for covering at least a portion of a wearer's head is provided. The hood includes an upper head covering section, a posterior head covering section, a neck covering section and an anterior head covering section. The anterior head covering section includes a window through which a portion of the wearer's face is exposed. The window is defined by a peripheral edge and is configurable between a first state having a first peripheral edge length and a second state having a second peripheral edge length which is greater than the first peripheral edge length. The window is maintained in the first state by a releasable fastener.

According to one form, a protective hood for covering at least a portion of a wearer's head is provided. The hood includes an upper head covering section, a posterior head covering section, a neck covering section and an anterior head covering section. The anterior head covering section includes a window through which a portion of the wearer's face is exposed and an expansion gap. The window is defined by a peripheral edge. The expansion gap is defined by at least two flaps and is configurable between an open state and a closed state. The expansion gap extends from the peripheral edge of the window to a location remote from the peripheral edge and includes a releasable fastener to maintain the gap in the closed state.

In one form, the closed state exposes a substantial portion of the wearer's face through the window and the open state permits the wearer's head to pass through the window.

According to one form, the open state is a relaxed state such that the peripheral edge of the window is not stretched.

In one form, the peripheral edge of the window is made of an elastic material.

According to one form, the releasable fastener includes at least one of a hook and loop fastener, a button, a snap and a zipper closure.

In one form, at least a portion of the upper head covering section is made of a perforated material.

According to one form, the expansion gap is defined by two flaps.

In one form, the neck covering section includes a bottom edge.

According to one form, the at least two flaps extend from the window in the closed state to the bottom edge of the neck covering section.

In one form, the protective hood further includes a shoulder covering section having a bottom edge.

According to one form, the at least two flaps extend from the peripheral edge of the window in the closed state to the bottom edge of the shoulder covering section.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a review of the entire specification, including the appended claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a protective hood having a window;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the protective hood of FIG. 1 located on a wearer wherein the window has been pulled down over the wearer's head;

FIG. 3 is a front fragmentary view of a further embodiment of a protective hood having a window;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of one embodiment of a releasable fastener for use with a protective hood;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a further embodiment of a releasable fastener for use with a protective hood; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of yet another embodiment of a releasable fastener for use with a protective hood.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a protective hood 10 for covering at least a portion of a wearer's head is provided. The hood 10 includes an upper head covering section 12, a posterior head covering section 14, a neck covering section 16 and an anterior head covering section 18.

The anterior head covering section 18 includes a window 20 through which a portion of the wearer's face is exposed. The window 20 is defined by a peripheral edge 22 and is configurable between a first or closed state and a second or open state. In one embodiment, the peripheral edge 22 is made of an elastic material such that the window 20 can elastically expand to the shape of the wearer's face.

The hood 10 includes an expansion gap 24 which is defined by at least two flaps 26, 28. The hood 10 further includes a releasable fastener 30 located adjacent the expansion gap 24. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the releasable fastener 30 is a hook and loop type fastener understood by those skilled in the art which has a hook portion 32 located on the flap 26 and a loop portion 34 located on the flap 28. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the location of each of the hook and loop portions 32,34 may be located on the other of the flaps 26,28.

Additionally, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that other forms of releasable fasteners 30 are also contemplated. Referring to FIGS. 4-6 additional releasable fasteners are shown, such as snaps 36, zipper closure 37 and buttons 38. However, other forms of releasable fasteners are also contemplated as known to those skilled in the art.

The closed state is defined wherein the expansion gap 24 has the flaps 26,28 connected to one another via the releasable fastener 30. In the closed state, the window 20 has a first peripheral edge length. The hood 10 is shown in phantom in FIG. 2 in the closed state wherein the window 20 exposes a portion of the wearer's face.

The open state is defined wherein at least a portion of the flaps 26,28 adjacent the window 20 have separated exposing at least a portion of the expansion gap 24. This separation is illustrated by the arrow 40 in FIG. 1. In the open state, the window 20 has a second peripheral edge length which is greater than the first peripheral edge length as the perimeter of the window 20 has increased due to the opening of the expansion gap 24.

In one form, the peripheral edge length of the window 20 may be measured when the window 20 is in a relaxed state such that no external forces, such as may be applied by a wearer or a wearer's face, are acting upon the hood 10 to stretch the window 20. However, the peripheral edge length may also be measured when the hood 10 is being worn or stretched by a wearer.

Referring to FIG. 2, the hood 10 is shown in a fully open state. However, it should be understood that the open state can be defined by any amount of separation between the flaps 26,28 adjacent the window 20 so as to expose the expansion gap 24. As illustrated in this figure, the flap 26 is separated from the flap 28 as the releasable fastener 30 is unhooked. The expansion gap 24 allows the window 20 to have a larger perimeter and thus a larger exposed area which permits the wearer to pull the hood 10 down around his or her head while still retaining the hood 10 on his or her person.

As seen in FIGS. 1-2, the expansion gap 24 and the flaps 26,28 extend from the window 20 to a bottom edge 42 of the neck covering section 16. The hood 10 may also optionally include a shoulder covering section 50, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The shoulder covering section 50 includes a bottom edge 52. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bottom edge 52 of the shoulder covering section 50 also serves as an opening wherein the wearer may insert his or her head into the hood 10.

In another embodiment, as seen in FIG. 3, the expansion gap 24 and the flaps 26,28 extend from the window 20 to the bottom edge 52 of the shoulder covering section 60. As seen in this embodiment, the expansion gap 24 is defined by the flaps 26,28 which are fully separable from one another. Further, as seen in this embodiment, the releasable fastener 30 also extends from the window 20 to the bottom edge 52 of the shoulder covering section 50. In this embodiment, the flaps 26,28 adjacent the bottom edge 52 of the shoulder covering section 50 may be optionally separated as desired by the wearer while still maintaining the closed state adjacent the window 20.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the expansion gap 24 and associated flaps 26,28 extend downwardly from a bottom portion of the window 20. However, it should be understood that the expansion gap 24 and associated flaps 26,28 may extend in any direction from the window 20, such as upwardly from an upward portion of the window, or from the sides.

The hood 10 may be made of a variety of materials known to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, Nomex. Generally, the materials chosen for the hood 10 are preferred to be fire resistant and thermally insulative to protect the wearer.

Correspondingly, the hood 10 may include multiple types of materials and/or layers depending upon the location on the hood and the desired use for the hood. Specifically, thicker and more insulative materials may be chosen for portions of the hood 10, such as the anterior section 18 which is more likely to be exposed to high temperatures. Optionally, at least a portion of the upper head covering section may be made of a perforated material, as illustrated by reference number 60 in FIGS. 1 and 3. In this instance, the upper portion of the wearer's head may be covered with a helmet and the perforated material 60 permits heat to escape from the wearer's head.

Generally, the protective hood 10 is worn with other protective garments such as a protective coat 70, which is shown in FIG. 2. In this instance, the neck section 16 and optional shoulder covering section 50 may be covered by the protective coat 70.

While the expansion gap 24 may be utilized to permit the wearer to pull the window 20 around his or her head, the expansion gap 24 may also aid the wearer when initially placing the hood 10 on his or her head. The expansion gap 24 permits additional room for the wearer to properly locate the hood 10 on his or her head and/or to properly locate the hood 10 relative to a mark or goggle on the wearer's face.

It should be understood that the protective hood 10 shown and described herein may be used in a variety of situations such as by firefighters, race car drivers, rescue workers and other individuals. It should be appreciated that for all of the disclosed embodiments there are many possible modifications that do not depart from the scope of the protective hood shown and described herein. 

1. A protective hood for covering at least a portion of a wearer's head, the hood comprising: an upper head covering section; a posterior head covering section; a neck covering section; and, an anterior head covering section, the anterior head covering section having a window through which a portion of the wearer's face is exposed, the window being defined by a peripheral edge, the window being configurable between a first state having a first peripheral edge length and a second state having a second peripheral edge length which is greater than the first peripheral edge length, the window being maintained in the first state by a releasable fastener.
 2. The protective hood of claim 1 wherein the first state exposes a portion of the wearer's face through the window and the second state permits the wearer's head to pass through the window.
 3. The protective hood of claim 2 wherein the second state is a relaxed state such that the peripheral edge of the window is not stretched.
 4. The protective hood of claim 1 wherein the peripheral edge of the window is made of an elastic material.
 5. The protective hood of claim 1 wherein the releasable fastener includes at least one of a hook and loop fastener, a button, a snap and a zipper closure.
 6. The protective hood of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the upper head covering section is made of a perforated material.
 7. A protective hood for covering at least a portion of a wearer's head, the hood comprising: an upper head covering section; a posterior head covering section; a neck covering section; and, an anterior head covering section, the anterior head covering section having a window through which a portion of the wearer's face is exposed and an expansion gap, the window being defined by a peripheral edge, the expansion gap defined by at least two flaps and being configurable between an open state and a closed state, the expansion gap extending from the peripheral edge of the window to a location remote from the peripheral edge and including a releasable fastener to maintain the gap in the closed state.
 8. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein the closed state exposes a portion of the wearer's face through the window and the open state permits the wearer's head to pass through the window.
 9. The protective hood of claim 8 wherein the open state is a relaxed state such that the peripheral edge of the window is not stretched.
 10. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein the peripheral edge of the window is made of an elastic material.
 11. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein the releasable fastener includes at least one of a hook and loop fastener, a button, a snap and a zipper closure.
 12. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein at least a portion of the upper head covering section is made of a perforated material.
 13. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein the expansion gap is defined by two flaps.
 14. The protective hood of claim 7 wherein the neck covering section includes a bottom edge.
 15. The protective hood of claim 14 wherein the at least two flaps extend from the window in the closed state to the bottom edge of the neck covering section.
 16. The protective hood of claim 7 further comprising a shoulder covering section having a bottom edge.
 17. The protective hood of claim 16 wherein the at least two flaps extend from the peripheral edge of the window in the closed state to the bottom edge of the shoulder covering section. 